"Later in the day, after you have decided it's easier to move to a new house than clean the kitchen, you return to your bed where, if you're wise, you'll reflect on this day. For the first time, your children have given instead of received. They have offered up to you the sincerest form of flattery: trying to emulate what you do for them."
My special day actually came early when my gift from my favorite store arrived via UPS. I love that my husband gets that about me! Then Saturday I wanted to do a nice thing for my family by making my favorite meal (and one of my mom's faves too) that night so it would be ready to eat after church on Sunday. It was a great idea in theory, and when I fell into bed at 1:45 a.m., I felt really proud of my accomplishment. I had even cleaned up my mess and taped a sign to the door reminding me to put the meatloaf in the oven before leaving the house. Except that our church has a lovely Mother's Day tradition called "Mommies and Muffins" that requires harried families to get to church 30 minutes earlier than usual so the mothers can dine with their children in their Sunday best. It's really quite sweet to get your picture taken as a family and all, but while the dads drop their families at the door and make a Starbucks run, moms get to corral youngsters in a dog and pony show that resembles to torture for a mother of three.
My 6 yr old served himself and sat very nicely next to me inhaling 3 chocolate muffins and several creme-filled danishes. Thankfully, the sugar high didn't kick in until after I dropped him off with his Sunday school teachers. The 4 yr old didn't find anything at all that she would eat, including strawberries. Every other day of the year she loves them, but suddenly this time, strawberries were gross! The 2 yr old was happy to get to sit in a big kid chair and use a real plastic fork...to mutilate his muffin, but not to eat a single bite. He then proceeded to run around the room shrieking and enticing his sister into a game of chase. Women in heels carrying plates of food are less than impressed with this game when it causes them to dodge small children without falling on their butts. A sweet friend and fellow chaos keeper told me afterward that we should petition to have "Donuts with Dads" moved to Mother's Day and all us moms would get coffee together next year.
We managed to survive "Mommies and Muffins" as well as get through service with a wiggly, temperamental, HUNGRY drama queen, and I was really looking forward to my well-planned meal just minutes away. That is until my husband asked me as we pulled into the drive, "How did you set the oven timer?" Crap! In our rush to get out the door, I never saw my sign! I blew up at my husband and had a major meltdown over the lunch we wouldn't get to eat, and I single-handedly ruined my own Mother's Day by acting like a baby.
My dearest quickly came to my rescue by grilling chicken, and my wonderful mother was just happy to have the time with her grandbabies. All turned out fine in the end, but my inflexibility and disappointment were a lesson to my kids, I'm sure. I am very blessed to be the mom of three of the funniest, sweetest, cutest kids in the world. I have the gift of a godly man who takes very good care of me, and I am the daughter of a godly woman who lives close by. Life is good...even without meatloaf!
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